VOX Box: Countdown 6 - June
Characters * Rocky Ballantine * Kathy Duquesne * Sonia Alcana Location * Rogers Yacht Basin, Gotham City, NJ * June 1st 2016, 0127 Local Time VOX Archive * Sonia Alcana: weapon powering up, chuckle Oh, I like this. * Kathy Duquesne: You modified these yourself, Rocky? * Rocky Ballantine: chuckle Well, yes, but I may have used some rejected designs from WayneTech's defense contractor days as a foundation to build on... not to mention more than a few parts I, uh, acquired from work. * Sonia Alcana: She means 'stole'. * Kathy Duquesne: '''Yeah, figured... That a problem., Sonia? * '''Sonia Alcana: Not with me. * Kathy Duquesne: '''And these are distinctly different than the ones in GCPD's evidence lock-up? * '''Rocky Ballantine: Oh, yeah... Of course. I redesigned these bad boys from the ground up using the weapons we were able to take from Beak's Bric-A-Brac last week right before Batman and his team showed up, and fusing it with WayneTech, AmerTek BG-40 Toastmasters, STAR Labs hardware, and some of my own work. I even took meticulous care to file off the serial numbers of the assorted parts and such to make these things look like they're completely original. * Sonia Alcana: Why bother with all that though? Those alien blasters worked fine. Why risk tampering with them? * Kathy Duquesne: That was my idea. If we're using alien tech, we don't know if they had tracking devices or anything in them. * Sonia Alcana: Yeah, but we could've just got some black market weapons. I know a few guys who could- * Kathy Duquesne: I want our enemies to know we're not just some petty thugs looking for a big score. I want them to be terrified of us. * Sonia Alcana: But how do we know these weapons are safe to use? * Kathy Duquesne: I trust Rocky... I'm sure she's tested them thoroughly. Ain't that, right? * Rocky Ballantine: Actually, I did just barely work out a coolant problem. It's a really interesting story, you see, I solved by fashioning heat sinks here, here, and here. giggle I actually got the idea from a video game- * Sonia Alcana: blast, superheated metal melting, liquid metal oozing, gasp, slow chuckle, giggle Oh, I really like these now, Rocky. I could kiss you! Oh, hell! Why not? footsteps, moist lip smack * Rocky Ballantine: giggle Oh, wow... Uh, thanks, Sonia. I'm just glad you like them. * Kathy Duquesne: So wait... What's this switch? * Rocky Ballantine: That is the override switch. Just like you requested, the weapons are designed to fire target-specific blasts. There's sensors in the barrel that fire blasts best suited to what you're aiming at... For instance, the metal chair that Sonia just liquefied was scanned and the weapon calculated it was best to expel a blast of superheated energy whereas if you're aiming at a person, it'd default to a stun pulse, and if aiming at something that needs to be knocked down or blasted through rather than melted, it'll switch to concussive force. * Kathy Duquesne: And this switch lets me change that? Good work, Rocky.These are perfect. So what's the difference between the three guns? Other than size... * Rocky Ballantine: Payload mostly, but all three do have the same select-fire, auto-detection system. The cannon which Sonia's caressing can dish out the most power, the ripper here clatter has a better coolant system, and the hand blaster is more accurate. * Kathy Duquesne: Well, I don't want anything too cumbersome. I'll take the blaster. * Sonia Alcana: Yeah... Bigger is better, I say. I'll take the cannon. chuckle We're gonna have some fun, baby... * Rocky Ballantine: Oh... Okay, I'll take the ripper then. Not the way I thought it would go, but it doesn't matter. * Sonia Alcana: So when do I get to shoot something? * Kathy Duquesne: The first week of next month. * Rocky Ballantine: Huh? Wait... Seriously? I have way too many tests to run before we deploy them in the field. I need two or three- * Kathy Duquesne: Sorry, Rocky. Just do what you can, okay? I'm sorry to rush you, but at dinner I overheard my dad on a phone call. He's personally overseeing a shipment coming in tonight. Apparently Cobblepot and Thorne will also be there. * Sonia Alcana: All three in one place? No way we're that lucky... * Kathy Duquesne: This is a long-term plan, Sonia. We're not taking them down tonight. * Sonia Alcana: Why not? * Kathy Duquesne: Well, something tells me if all three are going to be there, then they're either meeting with someone important or they're receiving a decidedly big shipment or there's going to be a ton of money. This could be our chance to strike a decisive blow or gain some serious intelligence on who is supplying them with these weapons. When this is all said and done, girls, we can use that sort of information to cut a deal with ARGUS for our pardons if things go sideways. * Sonia Alcana: I say we just kill these expletive. They deserve it. So what if I go to prison? At least we'd have our vengeance. * Kathy Duquesne: Vengeance? I thought we were after justice. * Rocky Ballantine: There's a solution here. Would it hurt for Sonia to just give Rupert Thorne a nice stun pulse shot between the legs? * Kathy Duquesne: sigh No. I guess not... That'd be fine. * Sonia Alcana: Oh, Rocky... Don't make me kiss you again, you beautiful genius you. Trivia and Notes * Story continues from VOX Box: Countdown 5 - May. * Story continues in VOX Box: Countdown 7 - July. * This is an updated version of VOX Box: Countdown - 7 Months Ago. Links and References * VOX Box: Countdown 6 - June Category:VOX Box Category:Rocky Ballantine/Appearances Category:Kathy Duquesne/Appearances Category:Sonia Alcana/Appearances Category:Terrible Trio/Appearances Category:Gotham City/Appearances